COVID 5 Years Later: Revisiting the pandemic that changed everything

Five years ago, the novel coronavirus upended life as we knew it.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic. At that point, Minnesota was only five days removed from confirming its first infection — a Ramsey County resident who had recently traveled on a cruise ship.

For some, the gravity of the situation truly sunk in when the NBA suspended its regular season. The NHL followed suit one day later, and soon the NCAA canceled March Madness.

And while students were on spring break, the University of Minnesota announced in-person classes would be suspended until further notice.

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On March 13, 2020, Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency. The next day, he ordered in-person classes to be shut down in all schools statewide.

The restrictions escalated from there.

On March 16, 2020, anywhere Minnesotans gathered for fun — bars, restaurants, museums, movie theaters — were notified they would have to close or shift to a take-out-only model.

“This is our new normal,” Walz declared, a phrase that would become all too familiar.

The governor’s initial order was set through March 27, but he soon followed up with a stay-at-home order that carried all the way through mid-May.

Everyone soon learned whether their job was deemed “essential” or not, and vast swathes of the workforce — particularly in the hospitality industry — were furloughed or laid off. Federal and state governments responded with unprecedented unemployment benefits and stimulus packages to keep the economy afloat.

Those on the front lines in hospitals around the world endured the brunt of the trauma, and hospitals pleaded for personal protective equipment and ventilators.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported the state’s first COVID-19 death on March 21. By the end of May, that total would surpass 1,000.

Over the next several months, government officials deployed various methods to “flatten the curve” and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The first obstacle was detecting positive cases. At first, all COVID tests were administered at medical facilities, soon ramping up to drive-thru setups to minimize person-to-person contact. While tests were scarce at first, breakthroughs in production would soon allow for mass testing sites. By late 2020, COVID tests could be done from the comfort of home.

And as the medical community learned more about how the virus spread, face coverings quickly became the go-to strategy for preventing transmission while easing people back into public spaces. However, masking was largely a recommendation or incumbent on businesses to enforce until Minneapolis and St. Paul required them in indoor public spaces.

Under pressure from medical groups and state health officials, Gov. Walz issued a statewide mask mandate in July 2020. By that time, face coverings had become a polarizing political issue, and multiple lawsuits were filed challenging the governor’s executive order.

The virus surged again in fall 2020, and at its November peak, daily hospitalizations topped 2,000 in Minnesota. Walz responded with a new round of restrictions at bars and restaurants, much to the frustration of the business community.

A grim wave of deaths came soon after. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there were 2,511 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota as of Oct. 31, 2020. By the end of the year, that sum had more than doubled to 5,382.

But there was a glimmer of hope. In December, federal officials approved a COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.

The first doses arrived in Minnesota on Dec. 14 and were administered to front-line workers and the most vulnerable populations, gradually expanding to more age groups and professions as supplies became more readily available.

The rollout was not without hiccups, though. Minnesotans scrambled to find providers with available doses, with some traveling an hour or more for their appointments. Minnesota officials eventually released an online tool to connect people with providers in their area.

The state surpassed 1 million doses by Feb. 18, 2021.